Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE) Rating Lowered to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Cadence Bank has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, impacting its market perception amid varying analyst opinions.
• Despite the downgrade, several analysts have raised their price targets for Cadence Bank, with Royal Bank of Canada increasing it from $34.00 to $37.00 and Barclays setting a target at $41.00.
• Cadence Bank's Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan for 10 million outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cadence Bank from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Cadence Bank from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $41.00 price objective (up previously from $38.00) on shares of Cadence Bank in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Cadence Bank from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Cadence Bank from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.90.

Cadence Bank Stock Up 4.0%

CADE traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $36.44. 2,885,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,756. The company has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $32.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.85. Cadence Bank has a one year low of $25.22 and a one year high of $40.20.

Cadence Bank (NYSE:CADE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. Cadence Bank had a return on equity of 9.84% and a net margin of 18.79%. The company had revenue of $476.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $467.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.73 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cadence Bank will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Cadence Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Cadence Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.15%.

Cadence Bank announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, April 25th that permits the company to buyback 10,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cadence Bank by 28.0% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 128,107 shares of the company's stock worth $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 28,008 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cadence Bank by 8.2% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 345,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,556,000 after purchasing an additional 26,135 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Cadence Bank by 12.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cadence Bank by 12.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 22,976 shares of the company's stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Cadence Bank in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company's stock.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank provides commercial banking and financial services. Its products and services include consumer banking, consumer loans, mortgages, home equity lines and loans, credit cards, commercial and business banking, treasury management, specialized and asset-based lending, commercial real estate, equipment financing, and correspondent banking services.